Never hog hunted before.....

[Philly]

So I’m heading to Florida for a my nieces wedding and my wife said I should build that hog file I’ve been wanting to build. (What the hell? She’s never said anything like that before!). So apparently she is looking at buying me a hog hunt while we are there. (I live in Idaho). So I have some heavy 6br’s but I’m building a carry 6br for this hunt. Is the 6br adequate? I’m not sure of the bullet choice yet but I’d love to hear from you guys. Any info is appreciated.

 

[RegionRat]

If you plan on eating this while you are there, you will want to take a little one (less than about 200 lbs) and for that just about anything legal will work. I like your 6 BR idea cause I think a head shot would be in order for eating one.

On the other hand, some places grow them very big down there and for those make sure you check with the locals for what calibers and bullets they recommend.

A 6 BR with a sturdy hunting bullet and a well placed shot will put one down as fast as anything else when kept within reasonable range to maintain penetration and velocity. The big ugly ones have a tough gristle plate, but they are not magic. They go down with the right shot placement and penetration.

Have fun and Congrats to the new couple.

 

[akajiggs]

I have had pretty good success with the 100gr Sierra TGK with head shots. DRT!
As RegionRat stated, the big ones have a thick gristle plate on and behind the shoulders which is very tough.
If you put a Nosler Partition in the boiler room, he will go down also, maybe not as quick, but will go down.

Good luck on your hunt.

 

[Nowhere Man]

I would recommend a more potent round. Hogs like to disappear after being shot unless you drop them.I've shot a few hogs with a 30-30 and a few with a .308. Both worked well but the .308 drops them quick.

 

[338 dude]

Headshot or directly behind the ear in the upper neck area will drop them like lightning as said earlier for larger hogs I think the 6 br would be a little on the small side

 

[MClark]

As stated a head shot will drop them and the 6BR is more than adequate.
However the head shot may not present itself on a limited time hunt. A cartridge that works for a less optimal shot would be better. I hunt hogs in Texas a couple times a year, typical stay a week, and use various 6.5's and up. 308 works great. I always shoulder shoot.
If you want t build a 6BR hunting rifle do it, but if conditions at hunting area are not favorable also have a larger caliber or use a camp gun.

 

[Pawnee Bill]

I see YouTube videos where all they use is dogs and a knife.

 

[Kevin57]

I have shot a hog or two in my 63 years living in FL. Head shots w a 6 will sort them out. Getting them to pose can be a challenge. If you hunt them over a feeder you can get those kind of shots. My advice is to pick something that makes a bigger hole.
K

 

[djporter]

I have shot a hog or two in my 63 years living in FL. Head shots w a 6 will sort them out. Getting them to pose can be a challenge. If you hunt them over a feeder you can get those kind of shots. My advice is to pick something that makes a bigger hole.
K

Ditto what he said

 

[AndyA]

Your 6br should be fine if you use a head/neck shot. Anything forward of the shoulder or else you are tracking. I have shot them with .223 to 7mmRem Mag and shot placement is key. My current favorite is the .224 Valkyrie with Federal 75 gr TMJ ammo. Low recoil and plenty of horsepower.

Also don't be afraid to put another round into them just to be sure. I hate looking for them in the mesquite.

 

[EOD Rob]

I've had several hog hunts and normally I would use a bigger caliber then a 6mm, however the last time I went, I was cocky. I showed up with only my 22-250 with 1in 14" twist, so you know I was not packing heavy bullets. This girl loves 52gr SMKs! 1/2 MOA out to 450-500yds. I know, pushing a 52gr.
Never asked this before, but I asked the guide where to shoot them in the head to drop them dead in their tracks. He said the ear hole, so i did and he was right. Take the 6mm with and have a great time!!!

 

[DumpHollow]

Hunted hogs in Tennessee in a 2000 acre high fence over dogs. The pigs were trapped outside of the compound and released into the hunting area. The dogs would bay them and you walked in with a handgun at a range in feet. We also carried some iron sighted fast handling rifle or slug gun. Some pigs were bayed in large brush piles where they were flushed out of there like rabbits. Yup, you stand a 50-50 chance of being charged. It is an adrenalin rush to hunt them this way. The guide asks if you can climb trees before we hunt.

I shot one with my Grandfathers Model 99 300 Sav at about 80 yards running ahead of the dogs. Also carried a 45 LC with 270 gr hard cast SWC pushed by 10 grains of Unique.

Big feral pigs can be tough to knock down, short of a head shot. At one point, we had one surrounded in a brush pile. The guide went in to flush it and it ran past a hunter about 10 yards from me that was using a 12 gauge with slugs. I witnessed him swinging on the pig and shooting it right behind the shoulder as it passed about 5 yards from him with the dogs hot on its' tail. That pig never missed a step and ran about 75 yards with blood squirting out of both sides like a garden hose before collapsing. When we got to it, the dogs were working on his ears.

Some of the pigs looked like European boars while others resembled domestic pigs. They ranged from 100 to 500 pounds.

 

[pirate ammo]

308 and a 168GR. A-max works every time.

 

[South Paw Sammy]

Daniel Defense DD5 V4 in 308 with 180 Core-lokts works every time

 

[SVT_Tactical]

I think I'd maybe pick up a cheap savage axis with a little more horsepower. They have scoped combos at the store down the street from me in 30-06 for $379.99. Serves multiple purposes, gives you some room for body shots as pigs heads are rarely still unless feeding in a baited area and a gun if while you're traveling got damaged/stolen, wouldn't make you cry.

just my 2 cents and I'll discount that 100%

 

[FeMan]

Ive killed close to 100 hogs and used everything from a 243 to 30 cal magnums and 44 cal handguns. Hogs ranged from 40 to 350 lbs. Id say the bullet choice is a bigger issue than the caliber. My biggest hog was a 350+ lb boar taken with a 243 and 100 grain partitions. That was a little dicey but I eventually prevailed.

If you will be able to pick your shot and shoot from a rest, anything will do. If its fast-and-furious and potentially a BIG boar, Id say a 270 or up with tough heavy bullets is a minimum in my book.

 

[1K Luver]

I'm not as experienced as many others who have commented here, but I've had my share of hunting successes. If there's one thing I've learned, it's that the behaviors of the target are unpredictable. Except perhaps for those out at 600 yards +, few will just stand motionless while you set up a rest of some sort (spelled 'bipod" for my rifles) and calculate the range while you line up the shot. Add to that your ability to dope the wind. If you're unfamiliar with the hunting area and the mass of the target you will face, I'd suggest to err on the side of choosing slightly more than you think you might need. By "more" I mean the bullet and velocity that is likely to reliably reach out to 600 yards and penetrate sufficiently with enough shocking power so that, even when the shot is not precisely centered, the result is a swift clean kill. Chasing a blood trail to find a wounded animal is something to be avoided.

 

[OKyote73]

I've shot a few, most with a 22/250AI. Seems a spot midway between the eye and the ear works very well! Is at times hard to get one to cooperate in the standing still part though...

 

[JackT]

I use to hunt hogs on the Texas coast when I was young (1970s). We would go out on a full moon night and enter a rice field from the downwind side. At that point we would walk slowly up wind towards the center of the field listening for them. On more than one occasion we got within 20 yards of them and took them with 12_gauge buckshot. Seemed pretty sporting at the time. I'd hate to think about trying that now.

 

[JackT]

We would also find a litter of baby pigs, pick one out and chase it down on foot, tag it's ear with plans of coming back the next year and shooting it as a yearling. Sounded like a good plan until a momma sow disagreed with our plan and charged us. When the shooting was over that momma sow was less than 10 feet away.

It's amazing that I survived my teenage years.